Rewriting My Story – Week 1 Recap and What’s Next

Decluttering: A Room a Day & A Lesson in Letting Go

I went into Week 1 with a room-a-day decluttering plan, focusing on the first floor. Since I already keep things fairly organized (at least upstairs), this approach worked well for me. But I know that if you have more clutter, tackling an entire room per day could feel overwhelming—so my advice? Go at a pace that works for you.

✅ Starting with a quick win helped. Beginning with a less cluttered space gave me momentum without stress. Highly recommend this approach!

✅ The hardest part? Letting go of my son’s things. Decluttering my own stuff is easy, but letting go of my kids’ old things is another story. There’s just something about holding onto their younger years through their belongings. To keep myself from hoarding every little thing, I follow this rule: I keep one favorite baby outfit, their favorite stuffed animal, and their baby blanket. The rest gets donated.

✅ Decluttering always makes me feel lighter. I declutter fairly often, so there weren’t any big surprises, but I always feel an instant mood boost when I get rid of stuff I no longer need. That feeling of fresh space, fresh energy, fresh start? It never gets old.

That being said… next week is where the real challenge begins. The basement. Pray for me.

Habit Swaps: What Worked, What Didn’t, & What I’m Improving

Habit Win: Waking Up 15 Minutes Earlier

This was by far the easiest swap, and I’m loving it. Those extra 15 minutes make my mornings calm instead of chaotic, and I’ve even had time to squeeze in a small chore, a breathing exercise, or just some quiet time with my son. If this keeps feeling this natural, I’ll consider it a locked-in habit and move on to a new one next week.

Habit Struggle: Intermittent Fasting

I’ve done intermittent fasting before, and I know it works for me—but this time, I found myself wanting to eat just because I wasn’t allowed to. It’s a total mind game. To make it easier next week, I’m using an intermittent fasting app to track my progress and give myself a little dopamine boost every time I complete a fast. Let’s gamify this, shall we?

Habit Win: Quality Time With My Dog (No Phone Allowed!)

This one has been surprisingly rewarding. My Chinese Crested is seven years old now, which means we’re likely at the halfway mark of her life—and I don’t want to feel like I missed out on time with her because I was too distracted. So, this habit is staying. Next step? Scheduling a set time and adding an alarm to make sure I don’t forget.

Habit Win: Sending My Fiancé a Morning Message

Simple. Easy. But important. Next week, I’m taking it up a notch by also sending him a quick check-in message in the afternoon—right before I leave to pick up my son from school.

Habit Win: Starting Workdays With Writing Down My Top 3 Priorities

This one worked well, but I want to improve it by writing down my priorities at the END of each workday, so I can jump straight into them the next morning.

Preparing for Week 2: The Basement Declutter & Habit Refinement

Decluttering Focus: The Basement

If Week 1 was a warm-up, Week 2 is the real deal. The basement is where all the “I’ll deal with it later” stuff lives. Here’s my decluttering plan:

Monday: Hallway (Quick win!)
Tuesday: Future “Man Cave” (Clearing space for my fiancé when he moves in)
Wednesday: Laundry Room
Thursday & Friday: Storage Room 1 (This one is packed, so two days)
Saturday & Sunday: Storage Room 2 (Same story—two days)

Habit Refinements & Additions

• Getting Up 15 Minutes Earlier: Sticking with this habit for another week. If it still feels natural and effortless, I’ll consider it a locked-in habit and move on to a new one next week.
• Intermittent Fasting: Using an app for tracking & motivation.
• Dog Time: Scheduling a set time & setting a reminder.
• Work Priorities: Ending each workday by writing my next-day priorities.
• Fiancé Check-Ins: Adding an afternoon check-in message.